Rocket Dan wa Mamore! Ai no Yakusoku!
by Rydia Highwind
Summary: Jessie and James quit Team Rocket, but can they get away in time? PG-13 for violence and language


--NOTE: While I am currently not a Pokemon fan, I ido/i like Team Rocket. This is a REALLY old fic, but I like it. XP  
  
  
  
ROCKET DAN WA MAMORE! AI NO YAKUSOKU!  
Showdown at the Pokémon Center  
  
  
Three figures burst through the door of the Pokémon Center and glanced around in somewhat of a frenzy. Nurse Joy, sitting behind the counter and working on some paperwork, looked up. But, because it was somewhat late at night, the Center seemed to be completely empty but the night-duty Joy.  
  
There were two people, one male and one female. The man was a few inches taller than his partner with chin length blue hair and handsome green eyes. The woman was slender with lively blue eyes and long bright red hair that tapered off into a large curl at the bottom. They wore matching white uniforms with large red 'R's in the center of either. They were followed by a fairly normal looking Meowth, except that it seemed to be walking on its hind legs instead of all fours.  
  
When they had approached the front desk, Joy asked as politely as she could, "May I... help you?"  
  
"We need you to hide us," Jessie said. "There are agents from Team Rocket after us. They're, uh, not very happy with us at the moment."  
  
Joy blinked and thought about what she knew of Team Rocket. "Of course! Here, let me just--"  
  
"Hurry!" James barked. "They'll be here any second!"  
  
"Right." Joy yanked open the cupboard door and started pulling white towels from the shelves. The three fugitives helped, James glancing nervously at the door every few seconds.   
  
When the cupboard had been cleared, Jessie climbed in. Meowth hopped in after her, but the cupboard just wasn't big enough for three people. Joy pointed James to the laundry room and restacked some of the towels in front of Jessie and Meowth so that an opened door would reveal only the towels. Joy then resumed her paperwork, pretending nothing had happened.  
  
Suddenly, the door burst open again. Four people entered, all wearing black uniforms with red 'R's in the centers. They were accompanied by a Machamp and a Raticate. Of the four people, two were male and two female. One of the women had long orange pigtails and the other had short maroon hair. Of the men, one had teal hair and the other was blond.  
  
"All right, Joy. Don't make this hard. Where are they?" asked the maroon-haired woman.  
  
Joy blinked, confused. "Excuse me?"  
  
"You know what she's talking about!" yelled the blond man.  
  
"No...I'm afraid I don't."  
  
The man slammed his fist down on the counter, causing Jessie and Meowth to jump in surprise. "Fine," he growled. "We'll just have to do this the hard way, won't we." He nodded at the maroon-haired girl and added, "Come on, Bonnie. Let's find those trouble-makers."  
  
Under the counter, Jessie silently prayed that no one would be found. She hugged Meowth, who was wedged on her lap, and they both tried to hold their breathes, as not to make any noise.  
  
"They're probably somewhere obvious," said Butch, the green-haired member of the team. "Like in the back, in a closet or something. Clyde, you and Bonnie take Machamp back there and look. Me and Cassidy will stay up here in case you have any escapees."  
  
James was in the back, Jessie knew. He had better be hiding in a hell of a good place. Machamps were known for their strength and not their brain (or the lack there of), but Bonnie and Clyde were no slackers either. Jessie bit her lip and waited.  
  
In the back laundry room, James was lying on his stomach on the musty floor underneath a pile of towels and other linens. The dust on the concrete floor was getting to his nose and causing his allergies to act up. He had put an arm over his nose and mouth so that he was breathing through his sleeve.  
  
The Machamp tore the door from its hinges (although it wasn't locked) and Bonnie and Clyde burst in after it, both with guns drawn. "We know you're back here!" Clyde growled. "If you give up now, the boss might have mercy on you!"  
  
James half smiled to himself. No, the boss would never have mercy on them. Not after--  
  
At that moment, his nose betrayed him and he sneezed softly.  
  
"What was that?" Bonnie asked.  
  
"What was what?" Clyde replied.  
  
James sneezed again and the next thing he knew, the towels and linens that had been hiding him were all over the room and there was a Machamp lifting him by his collar. "Machamp," the four-armed monster grinned.  
  
"No one else back here," Clyde affirmed. Machamp had thrown all the towels and everything all over the place and it was obvious James had been the only one hiding back there. "Let's head back up to the front."  
  
As they did so, Bonnie grinned up at James and said, "Bless you."  
  
"I'm allergic to dust," James sniffed, still being carried by the Machamp.  
  
Back in the front, Cassidy had Joy tied up, but neither she or Butch had found anything. Jessie and Meowth were still huddled under the counter. Oh, shit, Jessie thought. They found James!  
  
The Machamp wrapped all four of its arms around James in a kind of backwards hug, ready to squeeze the life out of him on command. The four Team Rocket members began to question James. Clyde went first. "Where is she?" he inquired.  
  
James struggled, for Machamp's grip was making it difficult for him to breathe. He glowered down at his captures and returned, "Who?"  
  
Bonnie scowled. "Your partner. That red-haired bitch."  
  
James remained silent for a long moment. Clyde made some kind of a gesture and Machamp tightened it's grip enough to make James cry out in a considerable amount of pain. The blond man repeated his question and James hissed, "Bite me!"  
  
"Not a good thing to say to someone with a Raticate," Cassidy smiled sweetly.  
  
"She's not here," James finally said. "We split up."  
  
Cassidy sighed and tossed a hand in the air in an air of exasperation. "Now, now. That would have been smart. Which means we can rule out that possibility."  
  
"I told you, dammit, she's not here! I don't care what you think, it's true!" James gritted. Clyde made the motion again and he yelled as Machamp once again squeezed, this time alot harder than last. He was now just trying to stay conscious. Machamp loosened its grip after what seemed like an eternity.  
  
"Well, if she's not here, where the hell is she?" Bonnie demanded. "She didn't just disappear!"  
  
James coughed weakly and spit out a mouthful of blood. He didn't even want to know what all this squeezing was doing to his body. "Wouldn't you like to know," he managed after a long moment and braced himself for more pain.  
  
What are you doing, James? Jessie thought angrily. If he'd just tell them that she was somewhere else, he may be able to avoid all this torture. She gritted her teeth as James moaned again. What were they doing to him?  
  
"I've got an idea," Cassidy said. "Jessie. We know you're here."  
  
Jessie bit her lip and waited. She could feel Meowth shaking with fear and knew she probably was too.  
  
"Jessie, listen to this poor guy. He's in terrible pain. And it's all because of you! You should be ashamed of yourself. He's spitting up blood here." Machamp tightened its grip again and James moaned. "Listen. He's your partner. If you care anything at all for him, you'll turn yourself in right now."  
  
"What, so she can get tortured too?" James growled. "I told you, she's not here. She can't hear you morons." He prayed that she would stay put.  
  
Jessie closed her eyes. She wanted--no, she needed to help James. But the chances were that they would both be killed if they were caught anyway. If she and Meowth could escape...  
  
No. She couldn't live without James. She hated herself for ever thinking she could. Meowth could stay hidden in the cupboard and she would turn herself in. "Meowth," she whispered. "I'm going to turn myself in. Do whatever you like, I don't care."  
  
"Jessie!" Meowth hissed. "You don't--"  
  
The cat Pokémon was cut off by a ear-splitting crash. Charizard charged through the door, creating a large hole where the entrance had been, and flew about the Center, whacking Machamp in the head with its tail. Machamp fell over and let go of James, who crawled weakly away. Charizard flew in for another round and fire blasted Machamp until it fainted.  
  
"What the hell--?" someone yelled, though who couldn't be deciphered because of the chaos that ensued. Charizard was extremely pleased with itself and highly amused at the same time. Recognizing Butch and Cassidy, it then sent a flame thrower attack at the unsuspecting Raticate, knocking it senseless. Then it grabbed a screaming Cassidy and a cursing Butch and flew back out the hole it had made. Bonnie and Clyde chased the fire lizard out the door, knowing that the lives of Butch and Cassidy were more important than capturing Jessie and James.  
  
Jessie kicked open the door of the cabinet. She and Meowth crawled out, trying to figure out what was going on. Meowth went to untie Joy and Jessie ran to James' side. He was half sitting up, holding his chest, obviously in a deal of pain. "James, we have to get out of here!" she hissed. "Clyde and Bonnie will be back any minute now!"  
  
"Okay, yeah," James said, not moving.  
  
Joy appeared on the other side of him. "Are you kidding? This man is in no condition to go anywhere! He's hurt very badly and we need to get him to a hospital! I'm not qualified--"  
  
"I know, dammit!" Jessie snapped. "I'm not stupid! But if we don't move him soon, those guys from Team Rocket will come back and kill us both!" She turned away as tears filled her eyes.  
  
Joy considered that. "Hmm. Good point."  
  
"Jessie! James!" Meowth called. "We've got a ride waiting outside! Hurry it up! They'll be back anytime!"  
  
Jessie looked directly at the pink-haired nurse. "Joy," she said. "Help me get him out there. We don't have much time. I'll make sure James gets quality medical attention as soon as we can get it too him."  
  
Joy nodded and they helped James to his feet. With one arm slung around each of them, James smiled as he noticed a Ninetales outside by the awaiting truck. "Should have known it was Rae when Charizard came in," he said.  
  
Nurse Joy helped them load into the back of the truck. Rae and Meowth were waiting in the back for them already, and, after Ninetales jumped in, she shut the door and tapped the window up to the cab twice. They immediately started moving.  
  
Meowth curled up in a corner to take a cat-nap and James fell asleep resting on some pillows that Rae had conjured up somewhere. Jessie tucked a blanket around him and looked down at his face. He looked just like a little boy when asleep. Occasionally, he would wince in pain from his injuries. Jessie sighed and stared intently out the opposite window.  
  
Rae sat next to her. Jessie didn't turn to look at her, but still said, "Is Luke in on this deal too?"  
  
"Who'd you think was driving?" the violet-haired girl smiled in return. When Jessie simply sighed, she asked, "Are you going to be all right, Jess?"  
  
At that, Jessie couldn't hold it back any longer and broke down into tears, sobs racking her shoulders. "That one was too close, Rae. Look at him. Just look at him," she sobbed. "He could have died and it was all my fault." She sniffled and lifted her head. "Oh, Rae, you have no idea what you and Luke just got yourselves into."  
  
"If you'd tell me, I'd know," Rae replied, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"The Boss will have you punished with us," Jessie sighed. "They're aiming to kill, Rae. We've quit the team." She didn't have to go on; they both knew that the penalty for quitting the team was death.  
  
Rae was silent for a long moment. "Why?" she finally managed.  
  
"You know what the punishment for fraternization is. Reassignment. Possibly 'accidental' death or suicide missions. You know that James and I are in love. So we've been talking it over for quite some time now."  
  
"So you'd rather die than be apart," Rae concluded.  
  
"Well, yeah, but that's not it," Jessie replied. "We were doing a good job of hiding it and all. In fact, besides Meowth, you and Luke were the only two who knew. But the decision was made for us. Rae, I'm pregnant."  
  
Rae said nothing for a moment. Finally, she hugged Jessie's shoulders and whispered, "We're here for you, girl. Don't worry about it. We've got you covered."  
  
Jessie sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Anyway, Meowth knew about everything. He decided to come along because otherwise he might get it for not turning us in or reporting us or anything."  
  
They both watched the road fly by for a good ten minutes before Rae said, "Tiv found out that you guys seemed to be in some trouble, so I sent out Charizard to find you guys. I knew it wouldn't come back, so me and Luke tracked it." Rae paused, realizing that Charizard wasn't around. "Um, any idea where it is now?"  
  
Jessie grinned wickedly. "Last I saw, it had Butch and Cassidy right before it took off for a good, long time."  
  
Rae smiled. "We'll let it have some fun for a while," she laughed.  
  
"Just out of curiosity, where are we headed?" Jessie wondered, hoping Rae and Luke had thought up some kind of plan besides just running.  
  
Rae glanced out the window and replied, "To a little backwater town where we'll blend in an never be seen again. Cerise Village, the town where people think Team Rocket is a band of scientists trying to land on Mars."  
  
Jessie relaxed. "Sounds wonderful."  
  
  
OWARI 


End file.
